Michael Smuin

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Michael Smuin (October 13, 1938April 23, 2007) was a ballet dancer and a Tony Award-winning choreographer and theatre director.

Born in Missoula, Montana, Smuin was a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre and the San Francisco Ballet, for which he served as co-artistic director from 1973 through 1985. He also choreographed for the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Washington Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Milwaukee Ballet, among others.

Smuin's Broadway credits included Little Me (1962) as a dancer, Anything Goes (1987) as a choreographer, and Sophisticated Ladies (1981) and Shogun: The Musical (1990) as choreographer and director. He also choreographed the 1995 West End production of Mack and Mabel.

Smuin's film credits included The Fantasticks, A Walk in the Clouds, The Joy Luck Club, The Cotton Club, and Rumble Fish.

Smuin was the co-founder and director of his own dance company, the Smuin Ballet, based in San Francisco.

Smuin collapsed and died of a heart attack while teaching company class [1].

[edit] Awards and nominations

  • 1981 Tony Award for Best Choreography (Sophisticated Ladies, nominee)
  • 1981 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (Sophisticated Ladies, nominee)
  • 1981 Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Choreography (Great Performances: Dance in America, nominee)
  • 1984 Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Choreography (Great Performances: Dance in America, winner)
  • 1988 Tony Award for Best Choreography (Anything Goes, winner)
  • 1988 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography (Anything Goes, winner)

[edit] References

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